Trademark Dispute Yellow Label (Cinnamon/Coffee)
Cycle Brewing

4.23/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle into snifter, 2016 vintage bottling. Pours opaque pitch black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky dark tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, cinnamon, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/black/roast/bready malts, coffee, cinnamon, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, cinnamon, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness. Very mild herbal, grass, roast, char bitterness; and cinnamon/bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, cinnamon, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, roasted nuts, biscuit, dark bread/crust, licorice, dark fruit, light smoke/char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, coffee, cinnamon, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet, and cinnamon/bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with no cloying/acid/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/bready, and lightly slick/syrupy/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 11%, with minimal lingering barrel booze after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic barrel aged flavored imperial stout. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/black/roast/bready malts, coffee, cinnamon, bourbon barrels, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/spicy/tannic/drying finish. Awesome soft/slick/silky feel for the ABV. Perfectly balanced super rich malts, fruity/nutty coffee, cinnamon, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Mild earthy hops and fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected. Aged amazingly, not overwhelming on any aspect.

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4.25/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottle @ home, from a an IP trade with richiesd, many thanks! Pours a jet black colour and a small but dense brown head with a small layer retention. Aroma's of bourbon, cinnamon, roasted malts and molasses that blend wonderfully well. Retronasal it's sweet, cinnamon, roasty, a bit boozy. Flavour is heavy sweet with some fruity sourness and light roasty bitterness. Alcohol is warming but not too sharp. Above medium bodied. Long finish, where the coffee comes up, leading to a roast moderate bitter finish. Lovely.

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4.41/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

22oz bomber poured into a tulip. Thanks Ray for sharing this.

Pours a deep brown body with a brown head that reduces to leave a good amount of lacing and some retention.

On the nose, vanilla, cinnamon, spices, chocolate. On the tongue, cinnamon, coffee, more vanilla, caramel, lightly sweet and some cocoa flavor. Lots of cinnamon. Body is thin-ish.

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4.79/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Tasted from bottle. Pours Black with thick beige head that fades quickly. Aroma of cinnamon, caramel, toffee, coffee, cocoa. Thick and chewy finishing with sticky mouthfeel. Flavors of chocolate, coffee, bourbon, toffee, caramel and coffee. Excellent BA imperial stout.

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4.5/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 22 ounce bottle, black under a one-inch thick tan head which lingers and leaves spotty lace. Aroma is dominated by vanilla and roasty malts. Flavor is balanced with mild coffee, roast, vanilla and cinnamon. Semi-full body and moderate carbonation. Lusciously thick and creamy finish. Smiles all around.

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4.5/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a Duvel tulip. No freshness date.

A- Pours a fully opaque black color with a 1/2 inch light brown head that retains well before becoming a thick ring around the edge of the glass and some swirls of surface foam. Resilient lacing leaves small specs behind.

S- Rich fudgy mocha aroma with the cinnamon rounding things out. Notes of baker's chocolate, vanilla and whiskey.

T- Big rush of cinnamon with the bourbon barrel coming on strong as well. There's coffee there too but it's not making as much of a showing as the boozy spiciness. Drinks super smooth with plenty of charry roast backing it up. I'd put the ABV somewhere around 11%.

M- Very creamy and soft with medium-low carbonation and a full body.

O- Pretty much everything I expected. Glad I only poured a little from the bottle since it's late and I can't be consuming too much coffee because this guy is decadent. The only thing I'll knock it for is it's not terribly complex but man is it delicious all the same.

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4.75/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

massive thanks to my man gregh for the regular hookup, cannot begin to thank you enough brotha! after the anniversary coffee set (which was a letdown for $30 cycle stouts) and again, mixed reviews on this set....I didn't know what to expect and since there is no way to get the gang to commit to opening the full set figured I'd dip in and this was the first I grabbed and tossed in the fridge. this one is a Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with Coffee, Cinnamon...a remake of Pallet #1.

hot dawg...das gewd. all the advertised flavors burst from this full bodied stout. rich and full while being light and silky...dat cycle way. phenomenal. really.

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4.55/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Trademark Dispute set.

Dark brown body with a small beige collar. Cinnamon leaps out in the olfactory senses. Lovely and elegant in all facets. Cinnamon and coffee characters are melded in perfect harmony.

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4/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to goveia75 for a sending a pallet (sorry) full of Cycle northwards. 22 oz. bottle that’s annoyingly not named. Shtick? I give it a solid 1 out of 5. Split with my wife.

The pour is akin to the inside of bomb shelter at midnight, & the smell isn’t the same, thankfully. Smells like chocolate, cinnamon, with a touch of barrel on the side. Chocolate. Surprised by the strength of the cocoa.

Trademark Dispute - Pallet 1 is belly warming after just a few sips. 10.4% seems low at first inkling, but it might just be the War & Peace of cinnamon going off within my body. Holy cinnamon nuke. By going deep into Hong-Sau, I can dredge up a bit of chocolate, vanilla, along with a nice bourbon finish. Zero coffee or roast, not even decaf. Mouthfeel hits a high note, thick, creamy, great bod. Despite the cinnamon sexual assault, I could drink plenty of this.

This grew on me - the cinnamon is so aggressive I almost started weeping at first, but as I, er, it warmed, I’ve lost my train of thought. Cycle? Make a great beer for me, please. This slots in like every other Cycle stout I’ve sampled - very good.

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4.5/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The best from the Trademark Dispute series IMO. Coffee was a bit on the light side, but the other than that, the other flavors and characteristics were on point.

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4.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

My final of the 5 trademark dispute beers. Like the others, this bear is creamy, thick, and full of flavor. A big nose of coffee in this one. The taste is dominated with sweet cinnamon and chocolate. Lovedit and will seek out this set again next year.

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a teku glass.
$30/bottle

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4.52/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours coal black with a bubbly, dark brown, fluffy head.

Smells of cinnamon infused milk chocolate, together with glazed caramel and a note of earthen, roasted coffee. The coffee inherits a wild berry quality, adding a light tartness to the rich maltiness. Its bourbon barrel blends perfectly into the adjuncts, enhancing the spiciness of the aromas, together with scorched oak, entangled into layers of soothing milk chocolate and the rustic coffee.

Has a lower carbonation with lots of whipped cream, creating a smooth, fuller mouthfeel. Turns a tad warm during the finish, due to the barrel, creating a warming glow after the swallow down the throat.

Tastes of caramel enhanced cinnamon spices, fudge, licorice and bitter chocolate. The coffee is less pronounced than the spiciness, lending an earthen sweetness to the flavors, which gets flawlessly picked up by the barrel. More chocolate, whipped cream and a warming dryness with a hint of booze create a nice complexity, leaden by rustic malts and sweet milk chocolate.

Rich and fulfilling on the tongue, well balanced and highly enjoyable with a nice peak, created by the barrel enhanced adjuncts. The base beer is strong though, exhibiting a convincing taste foundation, which gets more complex, due to the adjuncts.

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4.25/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

First Cycle stout to date (that I remember), and I was impressed. A very cinnamon forward stout with smooth edges from the barrel aging, a bright pop, and quite delicious.

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4.43/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Very cinnamon forward similar to an Abraxas in my opinion. Really tasty but didn't detect an overwhelming barrel presence which I would have liked more of.

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4.25/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I think I waited a little long on this one. I know the bottle said to consume fresh. Coffee faded, cinnamon took over. Still an excellent beer that I downed solo, but wish I took heed to the message on the bottle. Cheers.

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4.64/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Another fantastic Trademark Dispute beer. Got a ton of cinnamon, but the coffee was more subdued than I was expecting. I would have liked a more balanced combination, but I won't complain too much - I'd still take another bottle of it in a heartbeat.

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4.5/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2016 trademark dispute drank on 12/19/2016

Nice blend of coffee, cinnamon, whiskey, and chocolate. Nothing overly complex, but the flavors really come together well

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4.51/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the bottle into a taster. Overall, one of the better Trademarks - enticing mix of coffee and cinnamon that is rounded out by a nice barrel characteristic. The only thing holding this back is the thin mouthfeel.

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4.58/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

L: Rich dark roast and mocha hues with a thin sandy head
S: Bourbon and cinnamon are strong on the nose
T: Wonderfully blended straight black coffee, cassia bark, and a trace of creamer that are all tied together by a strong, but not overt barrel note
F: Medium bodied with ample carb
O: Another expertly crafted stout by one of the best in the game - just very well done.

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4.61/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Really nice Stout, not too boozy and the cinnamon smells really strong. Nice balance of coffee and cinnamon. Nice thickness on the look. Great taste and cinnamon tastes really strong on the end.

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4.5/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Huge oak tannins and toffee on the nose along with coconut and rich dark and milk chocolate on the nose. I could smell this all day. I don't get much cinnamon on the nose, but it does come through on the taste. Based on what others have said, the cinnamon is definitely fading but that is a good thing here. It blends with the base beer and doesn't steal the show. I'm getting a lot of rich dark fruits in this one. The barrel really worked its magic on this producing a rich and complex flavor. The mouth feel is adequate. A thicker feel could propel this into elite status, but it's very enjoyable as is. This is one of the better stouts from Cycle.

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4.59/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Tan head. Black in color.

And plus like. Cc bomb like. Everything is here with a nice full body. Bourbon and oak. Lots of nice cinnamon spice and coffee roast. Warming and smooth.

Incredible beer. Best of the pallets. One of the better cycles I have had.

Tradmark yellow version:

Lots of coffee off the nose. Cinnamon is in the background but noticeable. Lots of bourbon. Cinnamon shows in the finish. Roasted. Could be thicker. Great coffee. Fun remix. 4.3

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4.2/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got this one from 7Clutch a while back. Cheers man!

From a bomber into a snifter
Coffee cinnamon barrel aged imperial stout

APPEARANCE: A thick, viscous, dark brown, almost black pour yields a three finger, thicker, creamier, light mocha colored head with great retention. Clear black body with no real carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a full cap and clings to the sides of the glass. A ring remains until the end leaving touches of lacing as the glass empties. Good looking for sure, though it could be a touch blacker perhaps.

SMELL: Lots of cinnamon initially. Some whisky, toffee, vanilla notes and hints of coffee as well, though the cinnamon certainly steals the show a little. Still, really decadent.

TASTE: Cinnamon, oak, whisky and toffee up front. Lots of flavor at the swallow as well, with more oak and whisky, cinnamon, some vanilla and cream, toffee, and hints of bitter coffee in the back. Cinnamon is the main player here but the rest manages to battle through and play a role. Really good stuff.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Very creamy and slick on the palate, goes down smooth and finishes quite sticky. A bit of a burn at the swallow as well and some cinnamon lingers on the palate.

OVERALL: Great stuff for sure. It’s definitely a cinnamon stout first and a coffee / barrel aged stout second, but if we keep that in mind, it all works really well. The cinnamon is a very enjoyable while the rest still plays a nice role in the overall flavor and aroma profile. This was probably my second favorite of the Pallet quartet just behind the tequila variant. Definitely worth trying if you get the chance. Thanks again for the brews 7clutch! Always a pleasure.

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4.25/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

650ml bottle. Served in a snifter glass 1/16/2016.

Pours a dark brown, nearly black body, one finger mocha head, nice retention, actually a bit of lacing though that dies out quickly. Smells of decadent milk chocolate, cocoa, dark chocolate, plenty of espresso, oak, barrel. The cinnamon is very faint here, but it's there. Flavour is similarly heavy on the chocolate, very nice cocoa and dark chocolate presence, milk chocolate, fair plenty of coffee, a solid barrel presence. Not much cinnamon. Mouthfeel is medium-fuller bodied, a bit more hefty than Cycle stouts in the past, which is nice. Sufficient carbonation, good mouthfeel. Overall- very nice overall stout, not much cinnamon but it's definitely a chocolate-cocoa forward BA stout.

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4.48/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Dark black color with tan lacing. The nose is mainly coffee with a hint of cinnamon. The taste is all cinnamon, but the coffee comes out more when it warms. The feel is a little thin & hot when compared to perfect, but still really great. Top notch beer.

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